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Mental Omega News Bulletin #15 (8/06/15) - We're back!


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#1 Speeder

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 02:15 PM

You thought the mod was over? Well, you thought wrong. Apologies for the silence, but now we're back with another news bulletin and more news to come. First of all, a quick status update which should answer some of the inevitable questions regarding current state of the mod.
 

CnCNet5 Online Support: Not there yet
Ares with Save/Load Function: Not there yet
Act Two Campaign: 22/36 (61%)
Side Project: Internal Beta Soon (56%)

 
The plan is to release the next version to the public once there is full support for CnCNet5 online services and a working save/load function because I can't imagine there'd be many willing to go through our rather difficult 72-mission long campaign without a function to save your progress. If you want to see the working save/load function sooner than later, you should definitely give your support and appreciation to AlexB, who is currently the only person working on Ares Expansion DLL and is making all the fantastic features that are yet to come with the next version of Mental Omega. If you are a modder and you are already using Ares, the more feedback you send the better.
 
What can you do to support Mental Omega itself? You can either contribute or spread the word about the mod. There are many Red Alert 2 players still returning to the game who are unaware of Mental Omega for obvious reasons - we have little to no advertising power and the word is spread mainly thanks to our fans. Link others to our website, to our YouTube channel, show them the mod and that there is finally a campaign for Yuri which so many people missed in Yuri's Revenge.

Your word keeps our project alive.
 

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You'd think there's been plenty of new features designed throughout the weeks we skipped the news bulletins. You'd be correct, but this is just a portion of those features. Let's start with a trivia: the current artwork for the Chinese Science Lab has been a subject of debate in the modding community ever since the pre-release screenshots of Red Alert 2 have been released. That particular building artwork was seen on the Soviet side in the infamous promotional picture, however it's been considered by many to be the pre-release artwork for the final Allied Battle Lab due to many similarities in its design. According to the same people, it did not fit the Soviet architecture too well.
 

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I've been a fan of this design ever since version 1.0 of Mental Omega where this structure has also appeared as the Soviet Lab. In the first beta revision of 3.0 it has been used as the Chinese Science Lab, a high tech building unique to one Soviet subfaction that went well with the other two. However after much thought I've given the subject, we've decided to replace it in the next version. The new design fits its subfaction's theme better and has been given an additional bonus to go with it. Here's the Atomheart, created by Nooze.
 

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The Atomheart gives the Chinese player access to the advanced nuclear and EMP technologies, but also two new Chinese support powers - the Wallbuster, a missile designed specifically to destroy enemy walls and defenses, and Irradiation which, when used on your vehicles, will generate a radiation effect similar to the one the Eradicator has around himself constantly. Contrary to the other two Soviet laboratory buildings, the Atomheart consumes little power as it is able to fulfill most of its requirements with a reactor of its own.

Out goes the Cryofield, in goes the Hummingbird. Now listen carefully and listen well, because this aircraft can slow down time. After you construct the Airforce Command HQ and the Experimental Warpshop, you'll get access to this new advanced aircraft. 
 

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The Hummingbird is a unit designed for support of all Allied subfactions. It is capable of creating a field in which units will move slower, making them more vulnerable to enemy attacks and unable to escape from other jets like the Stormchild or Harrier. The slowest units will suffer from this debuff attack the most. The artwork for this jet was created by Moder.U and the unit has been voiced by Seoras.
 

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Rahn makes his first appearance in the mission with a very subtle codename..

Operation: Huehuecoyotl

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Even though Yuri's Proselytes have successfully infiltrated the Russian network and eliminated traces of Yuri's prototypes and technology schematics, the Latin Confederation is still in possession of 4 Cloning Vats in Spain, now occupied by their forces shortly before the final attack on the Gladius Defense System. Your objective is to infiltrate the Cloning Vats network and infect them with a genetic virus that will turn the tide against the Confederation's forces in Europe. From the dust will emerge a super soldier who will help Yuri destroy the Soviet dominion in the eastern part of the continent. The mission comes from lovalmidas, most famous for the Singularity mission in Act One.

The Latin Confederation is quick to react to Yuri's attacks around the world. Yuri is targeting and eliminating many important people in command or working for the Soviet armies, one of them being Colonel José Arcadio Morales who has infiltrated Brazil to acquire important intel on Yuri's movements. His extraction from Rio de Janeiro is an important task for the Soviet Commander in Act Two.
 

Operation: Exist to Exit

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Yuri's forces are quick to establish two outposts around Morales' location in the city, shortly after the Soviets deploy their forces. Morales must be protected until it is possible to extract him and the important information on Yuri's plans that he carries.
 

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Map Preview #43: (4) Vanilla Ice Cream (snow; "Islands" map pool) by Speeder
Map Preview #44: (4) Libra's Playground (desert; standard map pool) by Toveena
Map Preview #45: (6) Malver's Sandbox (desert; standard map pool) by Toveena

So there it is, Libra gets her own playground and Malver gets a box of sand. At least there's some vanilla ice cream to sweeten things up. In all seriousness though, these are some of the recent additions to the Mental Omega map pool, which is now dangerously close to hitting the 400 maps mark. While we're not showing all of the new additions, only the ones unique to the mod, I can definitely tell you there are plenty of battlefields to choose from. Every map will have their own unique characteristics and they'll all be available in the next release.

"(4) Vanilla Ice Cream" is a new map for the "Island" game mode on which each of the teams gets unique bonuses for their bases. There are two ore fields, a gem field, and bonus defenses for each player, but only two have the gems as their first resource. A Missile Bunker and the last ore field are on a separate island. With a Tech Base Expansion Post near the Bunker, it might be easier to defend it against attacks from the air. The Concrete Fortresses will make it more difficult to deploy amphibious and ground units nearby.

"(4) Libra's Playground" is a map designed for 2v2 team games in which each of the players has its own role to play. The lakes next to the bases don't allow naval combat, but the use of amphibious units might prove very useful to gain an advantage over your enemies. A desolate Tech Academy awaits in the center and will provide veteran training for all the infantry of the player who captures it. There are plenty of gems in the middle, so it might be a good idea to expand quickly.

"(6) Malver's Sandbox" is an island where Malver used to lurk when he was seeking isolation. This isolation was violently disturbed when 6 armies deployed their forces here. You'll have an important decision to make regarding the time going towards the gem fields on the sides near the Tech Base Expansion Posts. The 6 Oil Derricks out in the open will require special attention as they could be the first to go down when your enemies attack and resources are scarce.
 

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We are still looking for someone experienced with UVW maps and texturing 3D models who can help with finishing the work on a set of new buildings within the aesthetic style of the game. We already have plenty of finished models to work with, be it in 3DS Max or Blender.

For more information write an e-mail to mental.omega.apyr@gmail.com

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We are also looking for additional Voice Actors for new units and missions as well as Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge Mission Scripters to help with the ambitious campaign project we are working on as a part of Mental Omega. Singular contributions are also welcome. Use the e-mail address listed above.
 

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Edited by Speeder, 08 June 2015 - 07:30 PM.

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#2 Meyerm

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 07:25 PM

What's that question mark bubble above the epsilon-controlled zubr in the Exist to Exit images for?



#3 Speeder

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 07:32 PM

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#4 Meyerm

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 07:40 PM

Hmm...

 

Anyways, I like the new Chinese lab design, but like the tsivil's replacement, I like the old name better. Atomheart sounds more like a weapon or supervillain than a battle lab.


Edited by Meyerm, 08 June 2015 - 07:41 PM.


#5 Graion Dilach

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 10:06 PM

Hummingbird is nice. Maps are nice. Not certain about Atomheart - the design of it looks mishmashed kinda. I might remember wrong, but OmegaBolt's map bearing the same name was also added to the mod - did you renamed it to apply the One Steve Limit?
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#6 Meyerm

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 10:49 PM

And if you're looking for more fans, maybe start updating the moddb page and presenting yourself to other C&C and modding sites, as well as bring back regular updates. People lose interest after a while. Giving them a little taste of what's to come on a regular basis keeps people hooked.



#7 Speeder

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Posted 08 June 2015 - 11:16 PM

Other C&C and modding sites already know about Mental Omega, the thing is to spread the word beyond, on websites like reddit, on social media pages & groups. Most of those players don't spend their time on what's left of the C&C community but on services which they use daily anyway. ModDB is also just a portion of it where a part of the dedicated fanbase resides. Been there, done that.

Yeah, I did rename the map. :p

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#8 Jargalhurts

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Posted 09 June 2015 - 02:33 AM

Intentional or unintentional, the Atomheart sounds like a reference to Pink Floyd's album Atom Heart Mother. Eitherway, everything else looks pretty sweet so far.


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#9 Eternity 6

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Posted 09 June 2015 - 03:09 PM

Cool but sadly it seems to me that the next release will take quite some time to say the least especially as saving / loading is one of the candidates . Everything else I can see you guys finishing by the years end . Saving and loading , will certaily be a pain in the ass especially as ares is being developed by one person , unless I'm underestimaing Alex B .


Edited by Eternity 6, 09 June 2015 - 03:10 PM.


#10 Solais

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Posted 09 June 2015 - 09:06 PM

The gattling turrets' .... turret seems to be misplaced, revealing the hole in the bottom bit.

 

Also, I really liked the old Soviet/Chinese Battle Lab as well. I kinda hope its graphics will be reused for something else.



#11 Meyerm

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Posted 09 June 2015 - 09:51 PM

Are you waiting on any Ares updates for components of the gameplay, or just save/load functionality? If it's just that and moving forward without new Ares updates won't mean significant backtracking later, I say just screw it. You don't have to wait until you have enough content to reinvent to game to release an update. Release BR2 with whatevever you can do with the latest available Ares version, and release an updated version once Ares catches up. We survived ACT 1 without save/load or changes made because of feedback on difficulty. ACT 2 shouldn't be too bad.

 

I just want to remind everyone that there's casual gamers too, who don't want heart racing edge of your seat inansity in campaign. Having it be very difficult should be an option.

 

And back to the science lab, I like that and the Atomheart (except the name). I don't think it fitting in is an issue. On one hand, the Atomheart has a vintage industrial look to it, and the old science lab is the only purely Chinese structure, with the rest just being Soviet (Russian) structures used by everyone. The science lab fits China already, and doesn't necessarily have to conform to traditional soviet structure appearance.



#12 lovalmidas

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Posted 20 June 2015 - 07:26 AM

Act Two campaign may or may not come faster than S/L or online support. AlexB can be really quick when he is on to something.

 

In any case, we will not be idly waiting.

 

I will be making my missions more manageable this time. I just need to stop giving myself more challenges every time I test my own mission. It's like the number of enemies you face is directly correlated with the number of times I play it. :p

 

Then again, my hardest missions were typically my earliest. My missions in Act Two won't be like that now. Then again, I may have a poor feel of 'casual' play, and I might need to rely on others to point that out. Feel free to feedback again to right any wrong you feel about difficulty.

 

By the way,

Side Project: Internal Beta Soon

 

I thought that was part of the main project. :o


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#13 Meyerm

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Posted 21 June 2015 - 01:54 AM

Is this side project I hear about more and more actually part of Mental Omega, or an unrelated minimod of sorts that just happens to be done by the same people?






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